Bell's Hopslam

 Bell's Brewery   Kalamazoo, MI

Notes:

Double I.P.A.

12oz Bottle

10.0% ABV

Appearance:  Pours a caramel orange, very light and bright…fairly transparent, there’s not much bubble action happening…off white head about a finger width thick formed and hung around...tons of sticky, resinous foam stuck along the glass…looks nice…(4.5/5)

Smell:  Mouthwatering citrus zest…orange, tangerine, mandarin, pineapple…piney, woodsy hops also apparent…mild caramel malts playing background role, this is a hop bomb…light, mildly sweet and zesty…(4.5/5)

Taste:  Surprisingly, it starts with caramel malt and sweetness (maybe honey) up front, but then descends into a deep hop bomb abyss…pineapple, orange, mandarin citrus flavors full of life and zest…third phase is all about the piney, resinous hop character…my tongue is noticeably coated with a thin layer of piney funky stickiness…awesome hop flavor surprisingly balanced well with sweet caramel malts…finishes with piney/lemon peel bitterness that rounds out the entire package…yum! (4.75/5)

Mouthfeel:  Light to medium body, tons of carbonation…chewy, wet, sticky, resinous, refreshing…the high ABV is well hidden in all this flavor…bitter bite on the sides of my tongue…feels great…(4.5/5)

Overall:  This is regarded as one of the best brews produced in all of America…the flavor is outstanding, fresh, zesty, lively…deep, complex hops flavor coming from all directions round out a total package that separates this ale from the many others filling this category…I originally purchased this six pack within one week of it’s bottling, though I’m reviewing it about 3 weeks later…I don’t think the flavor has lost too much zest and tingle which is a big part of brews like this…it’s hard to review beers that I know are revered because there is a pressure to also think that they are wonderful, but in this case, Bell’s Hopslam is worthy of being trumpeted…at $15.99 a six pack, it is a pricey purchase, but well worth it in the long run…two of these sitting around watching your favorite comedies off Hulu is a fantastic time! (5/5)

Score:

(4.63/5)